Dah lama nak sentuh topik ni. If you’ve been reading and studying about Montessori, you’ll eventually come across perkataan ni,. Yang banyak dan biasa kita dengar adalah Prepared Environment, tapi ada dua lagi elemen yang sama penting..

3 elemen penting dalam Montessori:
1) The Prepared Adult
2) The Prepared Environment
3) The Prepared Child

4 ways adult becomes prepared to work with the child:
1) Spiritually; inner-self (termasuklah emosi)
2) Intellectually
3) Technically
4) Physically

Inner-Self

“We must see ourselves as another sees us.”

Dalam buku The Secret of Childhood, Dr. Montessori nyatakan untuk bekerja dengan kanak-kanak, tidak cukup dengan pengetahuan teori sahaja. Cara kita perhatikan kanak-kanak adalah sangat penting. Sebelum bekerja dengan kanak-kanak, guru atau orang dewasa perlu terlebih dahulu “studying his own defects, his own evil tendencies, rather than by being excessively pre-occupied with a “child’s tendencies,” with the manner of ‘correcting child’s mistakes,…’.”

Free from anger and pride and prejudice which will hinder our understanding of a child.

• Ingat, troublesome children need the most love. Mereka nakkan perhatian dan tak boleh diendahkan dan perhatian yang diberikan perlulah bersesuaian.
• Must have faith in the child dan develop humility. If something goes wrong jangan terburu-buru salahkan mereka. Tengok environment dan diri kita.
• Kesabaran. Mesti tahu kanak-kanak bukan menyusahkan dan kita perlu perlahankan pace ikut mereka.
• Perserverance

The Montessori approach is a flexible approach that meets the truest, deepest needs of the universal child and the individual child. When it doesn’t seem to be working, we need to look at the foundation: prepared child, prepared adult, prepared environment (prepared to meet the human needs and tendencies – not requiring a room full of materials). If something is not quite there in one if those, the tripod is not strong. – Jessica Welsh from FB 

You must prepare yourself first, before anything else – and that includes all the reading, yes, but it also includes being willing to look honestly at your self, your habits, your responses and reactions, and being willing to change them when needed. Are you able to allow your child the freedom, the mistakes and the exploration as well as to know when to set limits that don’t feel like limits because that is what is needed to develop deep concentration? Are you able to observe with enough objectivity to know when your child’s needs are not being met and what to shift in the environment to meet them? If you can do that, then you’ve got a Montessori environment. – Andy Lulka from FB 

Salah satu aspek juga Mendengar.

• Langkah pertama untuk rasa dihargai
• “If the child does not have a model of what listening really means, she will not be able to do it, and will even lose the ability to listen to herself, her inner guidance.”[source]
• Kanak-kanak rasa didengari bila: [source]
  • dewasa senyap bila mereka bercakap
  • dewasa paraphrase apa yang mereka dah cakap untuk clarify sebelum respond
  • dewasa beri kepercayaan kepada kebolehan kanak-kanak dan encourage independence while offering any necessary suggestions (since the child is coming to the adult for guidance or at minimum confirmation of the appropriate course of action or confirmation that the child’s words, thoughts, feelings and stories are valid).
  • Macamana nak respond? Dari kita biasa tanya, “Kenapa tak letak semula?” kita beri reminder, “Kerja masih tak siap ni, masih di lantai (contohnya). Siapkan kerja dulu baru mula yang baru.

Intellectually

Baca dan belajar tentang ilmu perkembangan kanak-kanak dan Montessori untuk bantu perkembangan mereka. Juga kita sendiri jangan berhenti belajar, apa sahaja. Be a lifelong learner ourself.

Technically

Kita belajar tentang material-materials, macamana didevelop, macamana nak present, teori disebalik materials, macamana nak prepare. Bila kita tahu dan faham ada yang boleh buat sendiri. Kita latih sendiri macamana nak gunakan dan nak sembahkan pada kanak-kanak supaya setiap pergerakan tepat sebab ini akan diperhatikan oleh kanak-kanak dan mereka akan ikut tiru.

Perlu juga tahu bila untuk intervene atau  tak. Maintain balance antara freedom & responsibility.

Physical

• Sihat dan bertenaga
• Voice tone
• Movements
• Appearance: Must not be the focus or a distraction (extravagant clothing, hairstyles or flashy makeup, painted nails…)

(*Susah juga nak cari sumber-sumber untuk prepared adult. The only two blogs yang share secara mendalam topik ni adalah Montessori Nuggets dan Montessori en Casa, jadi nota ni berasaskan kedua-dua blog ni, buku-buku Montessori yang dibaca dan discussion dalam Montessori groups.)